Editing Frances Bavier (section)

==Later years==
In 1972, Bavier retired from acting and bought a home in [[Siler City, North Carolina]].<ref name="kelly"/> On choosing to live in North Carolina instead of her native New York, Bavier said, "I fell in love with North Carolina, all the pretty roads and the trees." Bavier was said to have married Russell Carpenter briefly in her early career, but there is no proof of this having actually occurred. According to a 1981 article by Chip Womick, a staff writer of ''The Courier Tribune'', Bavier enthusiastically promoted [[Christmas]] and [[Easterseals (U.S.)|Easter Seal Societies]] from her Siler City home, and often wrote inspirational letters to fans who sought autographs.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} Additionally she left a $100,000 trust fund for the police force in Siler City, North Carolina whose interest is divided among the approximately 20 employees as a bonus every December.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.courier-tribune.com/news/20190112/did-aunt-bee-leave-100k-for-siler-city-police-here8217s-answer|title=Did Aunt Bee leave $100K for the Siler City police? Here's the answer|access-date=October 18, 2021|archive-date=October 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020024200/https://www.courier-tribune.com/news/20190112/did-aunt-bee-leave-100k-for-siler-city-police-here8217s-answer|url-status=dead}}</ref>